Wednesday, February 26, 2014

RUMBEK, 25 February 2014 (IRIN) - The 101 civilians holed up in two
large tents and a washroom block in a UN base in the South Sudan city
of Rumbek may form one of the smallest such groups now protected by
peacekeepers, but their conditions and fears are typical of the 75,000
people now living in such bases across the country.

"We haven't faced this before," said Rejoice Chan, who works as a
recovery, reintegration and peacebuilding officer for the UN Mission in
South Sudan (UNMISS).

Around a dozen armoured personnel carriers and trucks form a
three-metre-high wall on one side of the camp. Rocks have been thrown by
the host community at the IDPs on two occasions. The trucks act as a
barrier and a deterrent. "They think there's someone inside," a camp
resident said.

The UN here is doing what it can - providing protection and limited
medical assistance and shelter, as well as advice to IDPs, and is
coordinating assistance - but it is not a permanent solution. "We're not
a humanitarian organization, we're peacekeepers," Chan said.

Klaus Steiglitz, vice-chairman of Sign of Hope, an international
humanitarian organization, likens the conflict to pulling at the thread
that holds the social fabric of South Sudan together. "Where we had
integration of different tribes in a city, now, as the conflict breaks
out, disintegration takes place," he said.

Nuer students who had chosen to study in Rumbek now only feel safe with UN protection in this predominantly Dinka town.

A number of the IDPs in Rumbek were serving as police officers on the
border with Warrap, another predominantly Dinka state, when the crisis
began. David Kiuch, one of the police officers, says he was disarmed by
his superiors on grounds of ethnicity. When quarrels broke out between
members of the two ethnic groups and those who were still armed shot
three people, he and the rest of the Nuers fled, he says. Authorities
picked them up and delivered them to Rumbek police, before they brought
them here.

Mary Nyataba, 28, a Nuer from Bentiu, was passing through Lakes State on
a bus when the crisis hit. She immediately got off the bus and got a
motorbike driver to take her to the nearest UNMISS base. "I don't know
anyone here in Rumbek," she said.

Insecurity and fear has radiated across the country, dividing South
Sudan's two largest ethnic groups. On 18 December over 100 Nuer people
arrived at the UNMISS base in the town of Rumbek. They had heard that
the UN would guarantee their safety. In accordance with their mandate to
protect civilians, UNMISS let them in.

High levels of diarrhoea

Two months later, they are nearly all still here. With more peacekeepers
due to come in, space is an issue. Sanitation is challenging: there is
no hand-washing facility outside the latrines and UNMISS doctors are
complaining of high levels of diarrhoea. Residents say that many do not
have mosquito nets. With only two large tents, one for men and one for
women, many are forced to sleep outside. Charcoal and firewood are
scarce.

The World Food Programme is currently providing food. They have
classified it as an emergency, but that means their support can last for
a maximum of three months, according to UN officials in Rumbek. After
that, camp organizers do not know what will happen. "UNMISS is not in a
position to provide," Chan said.

The situation is untenable but solutions are not forthcoming. Forty-nine people have requested to go back to Bentiu.

Nyakuma Wuor, 24, is feeling the pressure of confinement, having been
stuck in this 100sqm area for two months now. She says she would be
happy to hear of transport to Bentiu, despite reports of fighting there.
She has not heard from her husband since the crisis started but
believes her six-year-old child is in Bentiu with the child's
grandmother. "We need schools," she said. "I'm sick of this situation.
You feel isolated and bored staying in one place. I'm not happy or
comfortable at all."

“In Juba it's worse than here”

More than 20 people have requested transport to Juba, a move that UNMISS
officials have strongly cautioned against. The UN now has 30,000 people
living in its two military bases in the capital. Conditions are dire
and the rainy season in April fast approaching. "Juba is more chaotic
than here. In Juba it's worse than here, even though here there's
nothing at all," said Chan.

The governor of Lakes State has tried to make the Nuers feel safe, local
members of the IDP camp committee say. But the governor's words do not
translate into reality on the ground, according to residents. Samuel
Lam, a representative for the Rumbek IDPs, said one woman was tied to a
chair in the central market for nothing more than speaking the Nuer
language. Civilians called the police, who detained and investigated her
for an hour. Since that incident, all camp residents going into town,
either to grind maize or purchase essential goods, do so under the
escort of the Non-violent Peace Force, a US peace-building organization .

This is working well, Lam says. He is a first-year economics student at
the University of Rumbek. Classes resumed in mid-February but he is not
ready to go back. For now, he is keeping himself busy by giving lessons
to younger students. He said he is pinning his hopes on peace talks in
Addis Ababa. "The country is in a dilemma," he said.

Clashes

Across the country, tens of thousands of people trapped in bases are
waiting, and tensions among them are simmering. In January, senior UN
Human Rights official Ivan Simonovic called it "unprecedented" that the
UN has opened up its bases to people in need to such a degree.
Nationwide, there are now around 75,000 civilians in UN bases around the
country.

Bases housing people from more than one ethnic group are faced with the
challenge of controlling interethnic clashes as they arise. In Malakal,
the UN has reported clashes within a compound in which 21,568 are
sheltering. While fighting raged outside the base, tensions reached
boiling point inside. "Simultaneously, inter-communal clashes flared up
within the Protection of Civilians site [...] which also came under
cross fire," a report from UNMISS said.

The situation was contained by UNMISS troops and Formed Police Units, but casualties were sustained.
Ten people died in the UNMISS hospital from injuries received both
within the compound, and from clashes in the Protection of Civilians
area. “Fighting outside the compound compelled UNMISS troops to
concentrate on protecting the perimeter of the camp from this external
threat. Violence then re-erupted in the Protection of Civilians area
within the UNMISS compound," the UNMISS statement said.

Air evacuation from UN bases will not be possible unless civilians are
under imminent threat, according to Chan. The Rumbek IDPs have requested
that the government relocate them. "The request was rejected by the
government because Lakes [State] is calm," one said. Calm or not, their
fear and perception of a threat is incontestable.

The UN is calling on all parties to respect the ceasefire agreement. Altogether in South Sudan,
872,900 people have now been displaced, according to a UN Office for
the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs update of 17 February. The
crisis response plan is only 18.5 percent funded, leaving a shortfall of
US$1.04 billion. The rainy season is due to start in less than two
months. Addressing the question of what to do with those inside UN bases
is becoming critical.

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